Oakworth Capital Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 121 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 72.6% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $4,683,000. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $275,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $118.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $85.79 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.